The Sudan Handbook

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able to form a common political front with the main northern Sudanese

parties, now in exile and opposition and gathered together under the

umbrella of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

But the civil wars in Ethiopia were also intensifying at this time.

Khartoum (with US support) backed the Eritrean People’s Liberation

Front, Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Oromo Liberation Front and

other anti-Mengistu forces, while the SPLA became increasingly involved

in giving armed support to its patron, much to its cost, both militarily

and politically.

The military position was delicately poised by the beginning of 1991.

The SPLA looked as if it was about to take control of most of the south,

including Juba. But the fall of Mengistu in May deprived the SPLA of

its bases, its supplies and its support and left it vulnerable to a flanking

attack through Ethiopia by the Sudanese army, who had backed the

winning side.

The SPLA’s policy of suppressing political dissent within the movement

also had the opposite effect to that intended, and weakened its cohesion.

A challenge to Garang’s leadership was launched by two commanders in

Nasir, now left vulnerable by the collapse of their former Ethiopian ally.

In August 1991 Riek Machar and Lam Akol declared over the BBC World

Service that Garang was overthrown and that the movement would

henceforth fight for the total independence of the south.

Garang, based some hundreds of miles away in Torit, was far from

overthrown, but the split was serious. The Nasir faction had the surrep-

titious support of Khartoum, who arranged an apparent transfer of

allegiance of their remaining Anyanya II militias. Over the next year

some very prominent SPLA commanders who had also fallen out with

Garang went over to the Nasir side. Fighting broke out in areas the SPLA

had previously secured, and Garang was spooked into desperate actions

of his own: he attempted to open a second front in Darfur, which failed,

and he launched a premature attack on Juba, which came near to success,

but also failed. Between 1993 and 1995 Khartoum was able to press the

SPLA severely in Eastern Equatoria and the area between Juba and the

The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors Uganda border.

(www.riftvalley.net).